Trigg Countians notice high energy costs with every fill-up at the gas pump, and with the new month, will see rising costs in electricity bills- by as much as 6.01 percent.

Pennyrile Rural Electrical Co-Op announced that on February 15, the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Board of Directors voted to increase wholesale rates by seven percent to 158 distributors, including Pennyrile. The residential rates will increase by an estimated average of 6.01 percent.

A Pennyrile press release said that equates to a $122.72 bill for 1,500 kilowatt-hours rise to $130.10.

President and CEO of Pennyrile Eston Glover, Jr. said, “This is in line with, or maybe a little conservative, with estimates of fuel costs needed to run generators. We’ve seen higher increases across the nation than in the Tennessee Valley and with Pennyrile.”

Glover said that some of the increase would go towards initiatives to promote efficiency among end-user consumers. “The power plant that is the most efficient is the one that does not have to be built because consumers are more efficient.”

He added that the TVA would seek new sources of energy, including new plants with greater efficiency, renewable sources of power and the potential to expand nuclear energy capacity to decrease reliance on coal and oil.

Read the full story on your electric bill in this week's Cadiz Record.